Paul and church membership

In Acts 9:26-30 we see him joining the church in Jerusalem, in Acts 11:25-26 we see Paul joining the church in Antioch - from which he is sent on his missionary journeys (Acts 13:1-4) this is the church he kept returning to between his missionary journeys - as a missionary he remained in membership with his sending church - why would he become of member of the churches he planted?

 

What does joined mean? Walking an isle during alter call to join a church or taking membership classes is not in the bible. If you are a believer, you are a part of the church. If you wish to socialize with a local congregation, then it really all does not matter what kind of ceremony that is expected for "membership". Conforming goes a long way, but it cannot be pushed onto everyone.

 

Salty, I agree with all that you have said. Because the church is so much more diversified now, there should be a few hoops to jump through in order to keep the membership of a large group on track and to avoid infighting.

But the original post did concerned Paul. I could be wrong, but in his day I can only assume that they were not as diversified as the church is today. So because everyone should have been more on the same page, "membership" to a certain group was not needed or expected.

 

I concur with RB. Paul was sent by the church in Jerusalem. He respected, and placed himself, under its authority (Acts 15). That should end any question regarding Paul's local church affiliation.

 

BINGO!

 

It means he joined the local church

I agree, but whilst those things might be the process by which becomes a member of a local church in some places, that is not what constitutes church membership.

Before I come back to the church membership issue I just want to consider your statement about conforming, by definition being a Christain is about conforming - 2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2Co 3:18) - if a person is not willing to conform they are not 'in Christ' and hence they remain outside of the kingdom.

Now, in regards to church membership note:

Acts 2:41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them - consider the order

1) these people believed
2) they were baptised
3) they were added to the believers

That third step is important, it is was as much a process as their baptism was.

Consider Acts 9:26-30 And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. 28 So he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and going out. 29 And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the Hellenists, but they attempted to kill him. 30 When the brethren found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus.

Notice that Paul tried to join (literally glue himself) to the church in Jerusalem. Now that immediately tells us two things, it tells us Paul want a tight and close association with the church and it also tells us that there was a recognizable body of the church that you didn't just become part of through attendance.

Reading on we see that Barnabas takes Paul and presents him to the leaders of the church and then we read of him being 'with them'

Think about 1 Cor 5:1-13 - the church at Corinth might or might not have had a membership roll, but this passage only makes sense if there was a recognizable body for this man to put out of. In the same letter you have to consider 1 Cor 12 and the analogy of the body that Paul employs for the local church. Your body is distinct form another persons body - it is clear which finger belongs to you and which finger belongs to them - now you might hold hands with that other person, and it might become hard for others to tell which finger belongs to which - but you both still now - why? because that finger is part of your body! And it would be very painful to loose it (1 Cor 12:26).

The reality is, the NT epistles require church membership to make sense, it is only our western individualism that focuses on the individual more then upon the group that blinds us to this reality and sadly that has resulted in church membership becoming a joke in many places - there are churches with memberships in that massively out number their regular attendance - that isn't right, that is a schism in the body (all those in nonattandence should be removed from the membership). There are people who flit from church to church on a whim or because they don't like something in the church - it's a joke! A finger can't not be with it's body, and it can't swap bodies on a whim.

 

Excellent. I am a church member at a local congregation, and I have joined churches in he past via walking the isle and membership classes. For a few years after all this I was a part of a house church group where membership was merely being a believer and being there.......participating and such, sort of like what you described in Acts 9:26. Was I a member? I guess I was even though I just started showing up there and eventually became a participant and befriended the men there. I am a part of a more traditional church now and I agree that membership is important. I believe that Paul was a member of all the congregations he visited due to him being active in each of them (preaching and teaching and such). I do not believe that the word membership needed to be mentioned.

 

I never said we should 'simply remove' - please don't misrepresent my words in that way! I said we should remove - I don't think there is anything simple about doing it, but I think it is vital for the health of the local church.

I wonder what it is about this forum that results in so many people presenting what others have said with their own slant on the persons words?

 

No, please address your pejorative misrepresentation of my words on this thread!

Why do you feel the freedom to misrepresent what I said?

 

We could start with Acts 9:26 and see that Paul attempted to join -- become part of and in fellowship -- the disciples at Jerusalem: "And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple." In context we find he was received on the word of a disciple they trusted.

The following truths show church membership and suggest "church membership rolls."

1. Bible references to Christians as “in” and “of” particular congregations.
Phebe was a servant of the church of Cenchrea (Romans 16:1). Certain prophets and teachers were in the church at Antioch (Acts 13:1). The elders at Ephesus were identified by the church where they had oversight (Acts 20). The saints in Philippi were a church with bishops and deacons, an identifiable people who communicated with Paul “concerning giving and receiving” (Cf. Philippians 1:1; 4:15).

2. Biblical teaching of church discipline.
The biblical authority of church discipline is placed in the hands of the local congregation. The right to discipline indicates a relationship between the church and the one disciplined. Matthew 18:17 and 1 Corinthians 5 are good examples of local expressions of discipline. Their actions or indiscretions are known and the discipline applied was known as well. When certain men “which went out from us (Jerusalem)” sowed discord in the churches, the church at Jerusalem met in counsel to resolve the situation.

3. Biblical role of pastoral leadership.
Hebrews 13:7 and 17 exhorts Christians to remember and obey “them that rule over you.” The exercise of spiritual leadership is localized and carried out in the locality where local Christians are to follow the spiritual leadership. Peter exhorted the scattered elders to whom he wrote to feed the flock of God which is among you – those particular Christians in the particular places they were (I Peter 5:2).

4. Biblical letters to the churches.
In Revelation chapters 1-3, letters are written to seven uniquely identified churches, each of which are addressed, praised, warned and/or reprimanded individually. Other church letters are addressed to specific people in specific places concerning their specific situations.

5. Miscellaneous thoughts.
We are to know them that labor among us (1 Thessalonians 5:12). The number of the names together of the Jerusalem church were mentioned by Luke (Acts 1:15). Those that gladly received the word and were baptized were added to the church in Jerusalem (Acts 2:41). The nature of spiritual gifts in individual Christians who are gifted mandates exercise among “local” Christians.

Much that is "traditional" is unnecessary, and sometimes unscriptural. The traditions that have grown up around the idea of church membership, church rolls and church letters should not cause us to throw the baby out with the bath water!

 

Excellent, thank you!

 

Acts 1:15b (Gr.) "The number of names (not persons) upon the it was about 120.' Upon the what? List!